Snow plow

ABSTRACT

Snow-plow comprising a plow blade to be installed in front of a motor vehicle for the shovelling of snow laterally with respect to the direction of displacement of the vehicle and a scraping bar in the form of a rigid strip provided along the lower edge of the afore-mentioned plow blade so as to contact in scraping position, the surface to be cleared of snow. The scraping bar is so mounted on the plow blade that it can swing back when meeting an obstacle and can return to its original scraping position under spring pressure.

Wnited States Patent 1 @ote [451 NQV. 20, 1973 SNOW PLOW [76] Inventor: Lucien Cote, l9 Cote St., Ville Mercer, Chateauguay, Quebec, Canada [22] Filed: Apr. 3, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 240,554

[52] US. Cl 37/42 VL, 172/705 [51] lint. Cl E0111 5/04 [58] Field of Search 37/41, 42 R, 42 VL; 172/705, 710, 711

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,055,291 9/1936 Henry 37/44 X 1,383,409 7/1921 Liddell 37/42 VL 11/1925 Staley 37/42 VL 2,877,573 3/1959 Kenyon 37/42 Vl,

Primary ExaminerRobert E. Pulfrey Assistant Exqminer-Eugene H. Eickholt Attorney-Raymond A. Robic [57] ABSTRACT Snow-plow comprising a plow blade to be installed in front of a motor vehicle for the shovelling of snow laterally with respect to the direction of displacement of the vehicle and a scraping bar in the form of a rigid strip provided along the lower edge of the aforementioned plow blade so as to contact in scraping position, the surface to be cleared of snow. The scraping bar is so mounted on the plow blade that it can swing back when meeting an obstacle and can return to its original scraping position under spring pressure.

1 Claim, 4 Drawing Figures SNOW PLOW The present invention relates to a snow plow and more particularly to a snow plow so built that obstacles on the surface to be cleared or uneveness of the surface will not damage the plow or appreciably reduce its effectiveness.

Snow plows are ordinarily heavy vehicles and to ensure their efficiency they have to be solidly attached to the driving vehicle. In view of the fact that the plow blade, which stands vertically, exerts great pressure along its lower edge and considering the power required to move it along, the plow and plow suspension along with the motor vehicle can be heavily damaged by solid and immovable obstacles on the pavement, such as manholes, gulley grates or the curb, invisible because covered with snow. The pavement, if uneven, can be damaged by the plow and to my knowledge there are no means available at the present time to prevent such damages.

I have therefore invented a snow plow so constructed that its lower part can swing back when meeting with an immovable object so that the plow will sustain only a minor shock, the swinging part of the plow returning to its original position after the obstacle is passed.

More specifically, the plow blade of the snow plow of my invention has a scraper bar formed as a rigid strip mounted along its lower edge in contact with the surface to be cleared of snow. This scraper bar is pivotally carried by the plow blade through elastic means so as to allow a rearward motion of the scraper bar when the latter hits a stationary obstacle of predetermined resistance. In a preferred form of my invention, the elastic means comprise at least one hinge pivotally mounted on the back of the plow in such a way as to allow it to swing rearwardly with respect to the plow blade; at least one control lever extending rearwardly from the aforementioned blade, and elastic means connecting the free end of said control lever and the back of said blade, these means being so connected as to bias the control lever and consequently the scraper bar into scraping position.

The aforementioned hinge also comprises at least one swinging leg whose axis is located back of the aforementioned lower edge so that the portion of the blade located between said axis and said lower edge will act as a stop for the aforementioned leg and locat the scraper bar into scraping position.

A more precise idea of my invention will become readily apparent from the reading of the ensuing description of a preferential form of said invention in conjunction with the annexed drawings in which FIG. 1 is a front elevation view in three dimensions showing particularly the lower part of the plow blade with the aforementioned scraper bar attached,

FIG. 2 is a partial elevation view showing the back of the snow plow on a larger scale than the one used in FIG. 1,

FIGS. 3 and 4 show side elevation views of the lower part of the plow blade with the scraper bar in scraping position and in retracted position, respectively.

Referring to the above drawings, the snow plow shown in dotted lines is of the conventional type comprising a motor vehicle 1 in front of which is mounted the plow blade 3 having at its lower edge a scraper bar 5 made up of a rigid strip subdivided in three distinct and autonomous sections. It stands to reason that this invention can be applied to snow plows of lesser capacity and where the plow blade is sufficiently narrow to allow the scraper bar to be in a single section. Also, one can imagine a much larger plow blade requiring a scraper bar having more than three sections.

FIGS. 1, 3 and 4 illustrate very well the operation of a snow plow built according to my invention when the blade more particularly the scraper bar, hits an obstacle on the pavement, such as a manhole cover 7 or as mentioned previously other obstacles such as uneveness of the pavement to be cleared of snow.

The aforementioned elastic means controlling the scraper bar comprise at least one hinge fixed at the back of the plow blade 3 and scraper bar 5 to allow swinging of the scraper bar back with respect to the plow blade. This hinge can be made up of two pivoting legs 9 fixed at one end on one of the flanges ll of are angle iron, the other flange 13 being fixed to the scraper bar 5. The legs 9 are pivotally mounted at 15 at the lower end of a plate 17 welded to the plow blade 3. A plurality of control levers 19, extending from the aforementioned scraper bar towards the rear, are biassed by elastic means connecting the free ends of the levers l9 and the back of plow blade 3; the arrangement being such that the said elastic means force the scraper bar 5 into the normal scraping position as shown in FIG. 3.

In the present example the control levers 19 are an integral part of the hinge.

It will be noted that the axis 15 of the pivoting legs 9 of the hinge is set back of the lower edge 21 of the plow blade 3 so that a portion 23 of the blade located between the axis 15 and the lower edge 21 acts as a stop for the pivoting legs 9 and determines the nonnal scraping position of the scraper bar 5.

The aforementioned elastic means comprise a support 24 made up of an angle iron welded to the plow blade 3 and to which the plates 17 are also fixed. A plurality of holes 27 are provided through the support 24 for the free sliding of the end of rods 29, the other end being fixed to washers 25 mounted on pivoting axles 31, each axle being in turn supported by a pair of levers l9. Helical return springs 33 are slid around the rods 29 with one end abutting support 24 while the other end abuts washers 25.

It is to be understood by the preceeding description, that when the scraper bar 5 hits an obstacle 7, it swings back around axis 15 and by so doing compress the helical spring 33, as shown in FIG. 4. Once the obstacle is passed, the scraper bar returns to its normal scraping position by the action of spring 33.

It will be appreciated that the particular structural and functional aspects emphasized herein are not intended to exclude but rather to suggest such other adaptations and modifications of the invention as fall within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A snow plow comprising:

a. a plow blade to be secured to the front of a motor vehicle for shovelling snow, said plow blade having a lower edge thereon,

b. a scraping bar in the form of at least one rigid strip pivotally mounted on said plow blade along said lower edge to contact, in scraping position, the surface to be cleared to snow,

f. an axle extending between the levers in said pair,

g. a rod having an uppper end slidably mounted in said perforation and a washer secured to a lower end, a spring surrounding said rod and positioned between said support and said washer, said washer being biased by said spring against said axle,

whereby said scraping bar will pivot rearwardly against the action of said spring upon striking an obstacle, and pivot forwardly by the action of said spring when the obstacle is passed over. 

1. A snow plow comprising: a. a plow blade to be secured to the front of a motor vehicle for shovelling snow, said plow blade having a lower edge thereon, b. a scraping bar in the form of at least one rigid strip pivotally mounted on said plow blade along said lower edge to contact, in scraping position, the surface to be cleared to snow, c. said pivotal mounting including plate means rigidly secured to said plow blade, leg means rigidly secured to said strip, and means connecting said plate and leg means for providing pivoting movement between said strip and said plow blade, d. a support rigidly secured to said plow blade, said support having at least one perforation therethrough, e. at least one pair of control levers mounted on said strip, said levers extending rearwardly of said pivotal mounting, f. an axle extending between the levers in said pair, g. a rod having an uppper end slidably mounted in said perforation and a washer secured to a lower end, a spring surrounding said rod and positioned between said support and said washer, said washer being biased by said spring against said axle, whereby said scraping bar will pivot rearwardly against the action of said spring upon striking an obstacle, and pivot forwardly by the action of said spring when the obstacle is passed over. 